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Beyond The Sound of Music: Villa's Evil History
21 Sep
Summary
- The von Trapp house, now a hotel, holds dark Nazi secrets.
- Heinrich Himmler used the villa as his summer residence.
- The family fled Austria due to Nazi persecution in 1938.
The von Trapp house in Salzburg, Austria, has a history far darker than its depiction in "The Sound of Music." The von Trapp family resided there from 1923 until they fled Austria in 1938, a year after the Nazi annexation.
Following their departure, Heinrich Himmler, a high-ranking Nazi official, took over the villa. He used it as his summer residence until 1945, transforming it into a site of significant atrocities. These included surrounding the property with armed guards, constructing SS barracks in the garden, and brutally executing slave laborers after completing a white wall around the estate.
The property was purchased in 1947 by the Missionaries of the Precious Blood and has operated as a hotel since 2008. Despite its grim history, the current residents are proud of the von Trapps' defiance against the Nazi regime, emphasizing their courage in refusing to compromise their principles.
